


Poncho and Potato

by app_jelly



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Angela is a disaster, F/F, but like nobody is a cat, but like not Fareeha, cat fic, featuring smooth Emily
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-07
Updated: 2017-07-16
Packaged: 2018-11-10 00:53:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 11,028
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11116488
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/app_jelly/pseuds/app_jelly
Summary: Pharmercy cat fic but, like, neither of them are cats.





	1. Let's Get a Cat

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this because I've been wanting to write Pharmercy fics for a while now but I didn't have enough motivation to write anything until I got mad at TheSoundOfThunderstorms. So here's part 1 of a short 2 part fic that should be cute, maybe funny. Enjoy.

It was a warm summer day when everyone’s favorite resident firefighter, Fareeha Amari, stumbled across the best thing ever.

“It’s a cat,” she mumbled as she bent down to get a closer look at it.

The cat had medium length brown tabby patterned fur and was curled up on a discarded poncho between a lamppost and trashcan on the sidewalk a block away from the fire station. _It’s really cute._ It was also really loud.

“MroowwWWWW!”

The sudden loud meow sent Fareeha reeling back until she was sitting with her palms bracing herself against the sidewalk. The cat took her sudden fall as an invitation to climb into her lap and start kneading until it was comfortable.

“You know,” she started as she reached to pet the cat behind its ears, “I’ve always wanted a cat.” She picked the cat up until it was at eye level. “What do you say, wanna be this city’s most badass firefighter’s cat?”

The cat let out another loud meow and started licking her hand. “I’ll take that as a yes.”

 

-

 

When Fareeha made it back to her apartment at the Winston Estates, her newly acquired cat immediately made a beeline for the window to serenade the birds in the nearby tree.

_I hope he doesn’t do that all day._ She began to take off her shoes when she realized that she didn’t have anything to accommodate her new pet. “Shoot.” Fareeha tied her laces back together then approached the cat now tangled in her blinds. “Alright… Poncho. Just sit tight while I go get some things for you.” She set a bowl of water down by the door before she locked up and headed for Catworld, the best cat shop in town. _More like the only one._

Meanwhile….

At the Best Dentist, Angela Ziegler was just finishing up with her last patient of the day. “Okay, Mr. Furbleston, you have bleeding between all of your teeth and you also have fifteen cavities. I’ll set up a three-day plan to get those fixed up. My assistant at the front desk will have the plan agreement and help you set up your appointments. Your goodie bag is hanging on the wall and I highly encourage you to floss more from now on.”

“But I floss every day,” Mr. Furbleston replied with an indignant huff.

_You probably haven’t flossed a day in your life!_ “I’m sure you do, have a nice day now,” Angela said as she booked it to her office.

When she finally reached her sanctuary, Angela immediately sank down into her worn leather office chair and let out a long sigh. _He’s probably going to ignore what I’ve said and walk out of here._

A few minutes later, her assistant, Sombra, walked into her office and leaned against her desk. “That guy Mr. Furb whatever his name was didn’t want to set up any appointment for his cavities.”

“Did he at least pay for the check-up?”

“…I guess.”

“You guess?”

“He just threw a wad of money on the counter and stomped out of the door muttering about ‘lies’ and ‘perfect teeth’.”

Angela was thoughtful for a moment. “How much money did he leave?” Sombra looked down at her perfectly manicured, razor sharp nails and replied, “Hmm, about a hundred-fifty.”

“Ah, good. At least he paid for the visit.” Angela stood up and started to collect her things. “Be sure to lock up on your way out Sombra.”

“Sure thing doc.”

Before she could make it out of the building, Angela’s attention was caught by Sombra calling her name from down the hallway.

“Doc, wait!” Angela turned back around to acknowledge her assistant. “Yes, was there something else you needed?”

“Well, it’s more like something you need.”

“…pardon?”

“It’s just, maybe you should go out and get a girlfriend already. Your loneliness is starting to drag itself into work.”

“…pardon?”

“Today you showed up wearing socks with crocs and you spilled coffee on your lab coat that you’ve spilled coffee on for the last two weeks. It’s a completely different color now, doc.”

“…Lena wears crocs every day though.”

“Lena unironically thinks they look good and she has a girlfriend. No loneliness there.”

Sombra had a point. She _was_ lonely. But she wasn’t going to admit it so freely. “I’ll see you tomorrow Sombra.” Angela hurriedly dashed to her car hoping that Sombra wouldn’t have the time to say anything else. When she turned back to look at the office, Sombra gave her a small wave and walked off to finish her duties for the day.

Twenty minutes later found Angela pulling into her parking space at the Winston Estates. She lived on the first floor right across from a charming firefighter that she may or may not have had littlest biggest crush on for the last year and a half.

_Fareeha probably doesn’t feel the same way. I should probably get a cat or something. Baby steps._

Just when Angela finally made it to her apartment door to unlock it and pass out on the couch for the rest of the day, _the_ Fareeha Amari strolled into the hallway carrying a lot of stuff. Like, a lot.

“Hello, Angela. Did you just make it back home?”

Angela didn’t hear a single word she said. She was too busy looking at Fareeha’s arms straining to keep all of the things she was carrying from falling to the floor. _Nice._ “I’m sorry, what did you say? I got lost in my own head for a bit.” She continued to stare.

“Ah, long day huh? I just asked if you just got home.”

Finally looking up, Angela took a second to recall Fareeha’s question before she answered, “Oh, yes I just got back from the office. What’s all that stuff you got there?”

“Well, you see, on my walk home from the station, I kind of picked up my new cat. I found him laying on a poncho and so I named him Poncho. He’s perfect really. I just got back from getting all this stuff for him at Catworld.”

_Mein gott. Can she get any better?_ “That’s great Fareeha! I was thinking about getting a cat myself. It might make things a little less lonely.”

Fareeha looked at her like she said she was half ghost or something. “Lonely? You? But you’re a super beautiful dentist that likes cats! Anybody would be lucky to be with you.”

Realizing the word vomit that just left her mouth, Fareeha quickly moved to open her door before Angela could notice her blushing. “Anyway, Angela, have a nice rest of your night and good luck with the cat thing!” She quickly dragged her stuff into the doorway and slumped against the closed door. _Nice one Amari._ _Why don’t you just ask her to marry you already?_

Thinking about getting married to Angela had her blushing all over again. Luckily, Poncho strode over to the pile of cat things and distracted her from any more thoughts of beautiful, dentist, cat-loving Angela Ziegler.

“Hey, Poncho. What do you think of all this sick cat stuff I got you?” Poncho instantly latched onto the giant cat tower and started tearing stuff up. He let out a couple of loud meows that were continuously interrupted from the furious scratching. _He likes it already._

“I’ll just go get your litter box and food station set up.” On her ascent from the floor, Fareeha noticed the state of her blinds. “And I should probably set a reminder on my phone to get new blinds when I’m out tomorrow.”

When Fareeha was done setting everything up for Poncho, he was back at the window helplessly pawing at it in an attempt to get to the birds outside. He was meowing loudly the whole time. _I could leave the window open for him if he wants out so bad._

The Winston Estates was a gated community of fine apartments and had round the clock security. She felt fairly safe in leaving her window open. Fairly safe. “Okay, Poncho. If I leave the window open for you, you have to promise to come back.”

Poncho just looked at her with his big pleading eyes and, for once, let out a soft meow. “Good enough for me,” Fareeha said before she opened the window.

Poncho immediately ran to the tree full of birds only to climb up and curl on a branch for a nap. Fareeha looked at the scene with amusement. “What a great cat.”

-

Angela still did not carry out the ‘pass out on her couch' part of her plan when she entered her apartment. Instead she fist-pumped into the air and yelled, “I have a chance!”

_She called me beautiful! Not only that, she called me super beautiful… Ahh!_ She hadn’t been this excited since she finally got a patient that didn’t lie to her about their oral hygiene. It was atrocious, but at least they didn’t try to pull the old ‘I floss every day’ line. That was six months ago.

_Still, it would be nice to have a cat. I could look online for one tomorrow morning. After all, I have a date with the couch. After I brush my teeth… and floss. Gotta do that one too._

Angela did have a bed, but it was currently occupied with her vintage tooth brush collection. She took them out to properly catalogue them but didn’t have the energy to put them away. That was three weeks ago.

When she was finished with her oral hygiene, Angela went to go snuggle up on the couch. _It’s a bit hot. Let me just open the window for the night._

After opening the window, Angela slapped on her tooth fairy night mask and promptly passed out on the couch. No blankets, no pillow.

-

The next morning Angela awoke to the sound of something rustling around in her kitchen. _Must be a raccoon. I did leave the window open last night._ She quickly got up and grabbed her giant net she left by the door. Stray raccoons visited her often enough to warrant keeping one around.

Creeping as silently as she could into the kitchen, Angela investigated where the noise was coming from. _The trash!_ Carefully, she lifted the net so it was positioned over the opening to the trash can. Before she could slam it down, a cat jumped out with a potato clasped in its mouth. _One, that’s where my potato went. Two, I guess I don’t have to look for a cat. One found me!_

The cat had medium length brown tabby patterned fur and was loud. As soon as it dropped the potato, it let out an ear-splitting meow.

“MroowwWWWW!”

_Cute._ “I think I’ll call you Potato. How does that sound?” Potato didn’t answer because he was too busy batting around the potato he fished from the trash. _What a great cat._


	2. Oh, no! Where'd the cat go?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I lied. This is part 2 of a now 3 part fic. Enjoy.

Angela was up earlier than expected this morning due to Potato’s unexpected, but, welcome entrance into her life. She had been trying to get him to stop playing with the potato for the last half hour. “Come on Potato! Don’t you want to play with something more fun, like my keys or this really long usb cable?”

Only when the potato rolled under the couch did Potato acknowledge Angela. He instantly began to rub himself against her legs and meow incessantly.

_I think he might be hungry._ “What is it, Potato? Do you want something to eat?” He just kept on meowing. “How about some coffee?” _Wait, caffeine isn’t good for cats._ “…creamer?” _And I’m pretty sure most cats are lactose intolerant._ “How about I just,” Angela began as she bent over to retrieve the potato from under the couch, “cook this potato for you?” Potato stopped meowing and reached up to try and knock the potato from out of her hand. “I’ll take that as a definite yes.”

Angela didn’t have any pots or pans because she didn’t believe in cooking. She always ordered takeout. The only food in her home was coffee… and creamer. She did have a microwave. “I’ll just stab a few holes in this bad boy, wrap it in a dish towel, chuck it in the microwave, and hope for the best!”

_Good thing old lady Jenkins gave me this potato yesterday for giving her some trial sized tooth paste. It probably ended up in the trash when I accidentally threw my keys away._

When the microwave was done nuking the potato, it let out a shrill beep, jarring Angela from her thoughts on disinfecting her keys. “Oh, Potato! Your breakfast is done.” She carefully extracted the potato with two spoons and scooped the potato meat from the confines of the skin. She placed it in a bowl and offered it to Potato. He didn’t even sniff it.

_You know, maybe a little creamer wouldn’t kill him._ She took the potato back and poured a small capful of creamer onto the potato, but, the capful turned into about half a cup. _I’m sure it’s fine._ Then she mashed the hell out of it with the back of a spoon and gave it back to Potato. The cat took a precautionary sniff then planted his face directly into his food. When he was done eating, he looked up at Angela with potato up his nose, some of it sticking to his chin. _Cute._

She was about to clean off his face when her morning alarm went off. “Hold on Potato, my bird watching alarm went off.” Angela quickly sat down in the chair that was by the window. She took out a pair of binoculars and scanned the surrounding area. _Just pigeons today._ There were five of them and, interestingly enough, one of them was wearing a hat. She made a note of it in her bird watching journal.

Potato hopped up into Angela’s lap with the dish towel she used to cook his breakfast. He was ripping it to shreds. Angela absentmindedly grabbed the towel with her free hand and began to clean off his face with it. When she looked through the binoculars again, she saw the best thing ever.

At four-thirty on the dot, Fareeha Amari could be seen running down the sidewalk in her pre-work glory. She was wearing a sports bra and performance leggings. _Those leggings were the best invention in human history._ Angela dropped her binoculars and fell out of her chair, practically squealing at her good fortune. _Today, I have been blessed. Fuck it, I’m going to wear sneakers. Matching ones!_

Potato wasn’t happy with the sudden turn of events. First, Angela had smeared the remnants of his breakfast all over his face and, now, he was suddenly on the floor. He walked over to her couch with his tail swishing violently and began to tear a hole in it.

“Potato! I sleep on that couch.” Angela looked on forlornly as Potato went to town on the rest of her couch. _Maybe it’s time I clean off my bed._

-

The reason why Fareeha ran to work every morning was because she didn’t believe in owning a car. She could drive just fine, but, cars needed fuel, maintenance, insurance, and other things she didn’t feel like worrying about. So, she ran everywhere.

_I am the epitome of physical fitness._

When she got to the station, she showered, put on her station uniform, and proceeded to wait around for a call. _I hope Poncho’s okay. He came back last night, but I didn’t see him this morning._

She was just about to try and persuade the captain to let her make a sick slip ‘n slide for the neighborhood kids when the police commissioner came waltzing in, Ana Amari. “Ah, Fareeha, fancy meeting you here. What a coincidence,” she said as she pulled up a chair and sat in it backwards.

“Meeting me at the fire station that I work at is a coincidence?”

Ana set her teacup down on a side table that, much like the cup itself, appeared out of nowhere. “Oh, you know I’m bad at small talk. I’ll cut to the chase then,” she paused for dramatic effect, before she continued, “Where are my babies?”

“Um… come again?”

“My grandbabies. The ones that you seem to be holding out on me until I die. Which, by the way, could happen any day now.”

Fareeha crossed her arms and looked away before she replied, “I’m not even in a relationship, mother.”

“Pssh. You don’t need to be in a relationship to pick up a baby or two.” Ana picked up her tea cup again and drained the rest of it in one go. “But, if you must be with someone, how about your neighbor Angela? She seems lonely enough.”

“…how do you know about Angela?”

“My dentist, Dr. Vaswani, works with her at the Best Dentist. I was getting my teeth cleaned a few days ago when she mentioned that her co-worker’s loneliness was starting to put a damper on things at the office.” She took a sip from her brand new cup of tea. “That’s when I thought, ‘Hey, my daughter’s also a lonely stick in the mud.’ So, here I am.”

_She didn’t have to call me out so candidly._ Fareeha turned back to face her mother and nervously twiddled her thumbs. “Do you think she’d be interested in me?”

Ana let out a small laugh. “Of course she would! All you have to do is smile at her and say, ‘Hey Angela, want to be my girlfriend so we can have babies together?’ She’d probably propose right then and there.”

Fareeha was blushing hard. “MOM! I can’t just go up and say that to her. She’d probably avoid me for the rest of my life.”

“Fine, fine. How about, ‘Hey Angela, how’s your cat doing?’ Because, honestly, at this point she probably has one. If you’re not willing to take the plunge, I guess baby steps will have to do.”

_She did say something about getting a cat yesterday. And it would be a perfectly normal thing to ask about it._ “Okay, I’ll do it.”

“Do what, the baby thing or the cat thing?”

“The cat thing!”

“Alright, alright. Now that it’s settled, let’s go for lunch.” Ana got up from her chair and began to walk to her car.

“Two things. One, I just started work. Two, it’s five in the morning. It’s not lunch time.”

“Oh, I’m sure Reinhardt will let you go.” Ana turned around and yelled in the direction of Reinhardt’s office. “I’m taking Fareeha to lunch with me and there’s nothing you can do about it!”

“Sure thing, Ana! Just have her back in an hour!”

“I’ll have her back when I have her back!”

_But she’s my best firefighter._ “Sounds good!”

“See Fareeha? Nothing to worry about. Now, let’s go. I’m sure you can pull a couple of kittens out of a tree while we’re out.” Ana resumed her walk back to the car.

_It’s still not lunch time though._ Fareeha went with her mother anyway.

-

Normally after bird watching, Angela would be busy watching shows on her DVR until she had to get ready for work. Unfortunately, she was forced to woman up and finally clean off her bed. She really didn’t want to.

_I still haven’t ordered the custom displays for each tooth brush yet. If I put them away, who knows when I’ll get the energy to take them out again._

She looked back at the couch that Potato was still tearing up. _I also need to get a new one of those. Maybe I could get Fareeha to go with me._

With renewed vigor, Angela scoop up all of her tooth brushes, threw them in a garbage bag, and shoved them under her bed. _There, done._ _Although, maybe I should wash my blankets._ They were completely covered in dust. _Alternatively, I could just wipe off the really dusty parts. Yeah, sounds good._

After she was done wiping off the what she deemed to be the dustiest parts of her blankets, Angela returned to Potato’s crime scene. “I guess I have to thank you Potato. I finally cleaned off my bed and now I can potentially spend time with Fareeha. You’re such a great cat.” Potato didn’t even look up from terrorizing his next victim, the really long usb cable that Angela left on the floor.

Angela pulled out a beach chair from her storage closet and slumped in it in front of the tv. _I still have some time before I have to be in for work. I could probably finish up the last two episodes of Ugly Sweater Fashion season 17 before seven._

Halfway through the first episode, Potato crawled into her lap for a light snooze. She was apparently forgiven.

-

“Lunch” had turned into an impromptu outing to the farmer’s market with her mother. It seemed the esteemed police commissioner really had nothing better to do that morning.

“Look, Fareeha! They have apples farmed by chickens. Neat, huh?” A lone chicken dressed in a tie and glasses could be seen working the stall. It had a nametag with the name ‘Mr. Leggy’ on it. Mr. Leggy was rather busy.

“That’s cool, but,” Fareeha paused and squinted her eyes, “Mr. Leggy looks a little busy. We’d be waiting forever for those apples.”

Ana coolly trained her eye on the stall a few spaces over. “How about those gorilla farmed watermelons? They look delicious _and_ no one seems to be in line for those.”

Fareeha deflated. _Watermelons? Those are way heavier than apples. She’d probably want like five of them. And, I’d be the one that’d have to carry them all the way back to the car!_ “You know, maybe Mr. Leggy isn’t so busy. It probably wouldn’t take us long before we got our hands on those apples,” she said, hoping her mother would forget about the watermelons.

“Nonsense, nonsense. Mr. Leggy is obviously busy at the moment. We could stop by the melon stand, pick up a few, around five or so, and by the time we’re done there, Mr. Leggy will be less busy.”

_Great._ Fareeha let out a sigh before she followed her mother to the melon stand. “Perfect.”

After about two more hours of farmer’s marketing, Fareeha ended up having to carry five watermelons, twenty-seven apples, a peach, six eggplants, and three gallons of fresh squeezed corn juice. When she was done loading the car she turned to her mother and asked, “Did you drag me along with you just so you wouldn’t have to carry all this stuff yourself?”

“I don’t know what you mean. We had a perfectly legitimate time bonding with no ulterior motives.” Ana loaded all of what she was carrying, a few loaves of bread and a pie, and hopped into the driver’s seat. “I think it’s about time we got you back to the station. You should probably be working or something.” She punched the gas as soon as Fareeha closed the door on the passenger side.

_First, I do all the heavy lifting for her and, now, she’s trying to kill me!_

_-_

Angela strolled into Best Dentist for the first time in weeks wearing a clean lab coat _and_ a matching pair of sneakers.

Lena, Dr. Vaswani’s assistant, popped her head out from behind the reception window. “Morning, doc! You look different today. Did something good happen?”

_You’re damn right something good happened! Multiple things!_ Angela approached the desk with a small smile on her face. “Oh, you know,” she looked at her nails in an attempt to look casual, “I had a great night and an even greater morning.” _I was productive and shit. Super great morning._

Lena’s jaw dropped. “Whoa, doc. Didn’t know you had it in you. Congrats!”

_Had what in me? Spiders? I hate spiders._ “…pardon?”

Sombra, who had been busy trying to pirate thirty movies at the same time on her work computer, pushed her office chair until it bumped into Lena’s. “I think that British Sonic here thinks you got lucky last night.”

“Would you quit it with the British Sonic thing already!”

Thinking about how Fareeha pretty much confessed that she thinks she’s super beautiful, Angela replied, “Ja, ja. I got pretty lucky last night.”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa. I didn’t think you’d take my advice last night to the next level.”

“…pardon?”

Sombra stared her down from behind the reception window. “If you didn’t get laid last night, why are you suddenly less lonely today?”

Angela was instantly a different color. Red? Probably red. “My neighbor who I’ve had a crush on for over a year and a half said I was super beautiful last night. Also, this morning I got a new cat. His name is Potato.”

Sombra fell out of her chair laughing. “A crush for over a year and a half? I’d say that’s more than a little ‘crush’. Why aren’t you married already?” She picked herself off the floor and continued, “But, congrats about the cat. Those are pretty nice.”

Lena ruffled through her backpack and pulled out her wallet full of cat photos. “Such a cute name! What kind of cat is Potato? Do you think he’d like to go on playdates with my cat Butterball?” She shoved multiple pictures of Butterball in Angela’s face.

Butterball was a rather round orange tabby. In all of the photos, she was laying on her stomach with her legs sprawled. She also wore a clown nose and aviator jacket. “I adopted her because she had the same hair color as Emily. Emily didn’t think it was funny, though.”

_Well, now I have to get Potato cute shit to wear. I should also get him the essentials, like, a litter box and ten more really long usb cables. He’d like that._ “Potato’s a brown tabby. And I’m sure we could set something up with Potato and Butterball, say, in two weeks?”

“Sounds like a date then!”

After her morning interrogation was over with, Angela went to her office for a breather before the work day began. _Hopefully I’ll get some cooperative patients today._

-

The rest of Fareeha’s work day passed in a blur. Reinhardt had no comment on how long she was out with her mother and she really did end up rescuing some kittens out of a tree. It made her really miss Poncho.

When she made it back to her apartment, she opened the door and looked around to see if she could spot Poncho. He was curled up on the top ledge of his cat tower. “Poncho! I’m back! Did you have any cool adventures today?”

Poncho slowly opened his eyes and stretched his limbs. He jumped down from his perch and rubbed himself against her legs. He was meowing the whole time. “Looks like someone’s happy to see me. How about I get started on your dinner.”

Just as she was about the enter the kitchen, a putrid smell wafted to her nose. It came from the litter box. “Oh, god. How did I not smell that earlier? What did you eat Poncho?” The cat looked neither guilty nor ashamed for making a big stink. If anything, he started to meow even louder.

“Yeah, yeah. Let me just clean up your litter box and I’ll get your dinner started.” _I should also look into getting an extra deodorizing agent for that litter. Good thing I kept that damn window open. It saved my apartment from smelling like an old boot dipped in sewage._

Poncho’s eventual dinner consisted of freshly prepared chicken, eggs, and zucchini. Fareeha couldn’t decide which brand of cat food to get for him and, ultimately, decided it’d be best to cook his meals. The cat had no complaints and devoured the entirety of his food.

_I’m just gonna take a breather on the couch before I start dinner for myself._ Fareeha plopped herself on the couch and grabbed the copy of Firefighter Weekly that was on the coffee table. Every month or so, she was featured in one of the articles. This week’s edition had an article about her saving fifty elderly citizens from a bus fire.

A few minutes into her perusal of the magazine, swearing could be heard on the other side of her door. _Angela must have just gotten back._ She made her way to the door and looked through the peephole to make sure.

Angela was sifting through the many keys on her keychain, trying each one to open her apartment door. She never could remember which one it was.

_Yup, definitely her._ Fareeha braced herself before she walked out of her apartment. _Just be brave._ “Hey, Angela, I was wondering if you wanted to get married.”

Angela dropped her keys and turned to look at Fareeha with wide eyes.

_SHIT._ “I mean, haha, I was wondering about your cat. You mentioned something about getting one last night.” _Just play it cool. Hopefully she won’t mention the marriage bit._

“Um, I, cat…” Angela was in a daze, frantically trying to pull her shit together. _Just BREATHE. Don’t get hasty and start pulling out rings. Talk about… Talk about Potato!_ “I got a cat this morning. His name is Potato.”

_Cool, cool. She hasn’t run off yet. You did what you set out to do and things are going mildly okay._ “That’s a cute name. Did you name him yourself?”

“Yeah, I did. He really likes potatoes. I think.” _I think I’m going to explode of happiness. I need to hurry up here before I actually do._ “Say, Fareeha, I was wondering. Well, my couch recently got put out of commission and I was wondering if you could help me get a new one. This weekend, maybe?”

_Oh my god. I didn’t fuck it up after all. She wants to go couch shopping with me!_ “Yeah, I could help you out this weekend. Tomorrow’s my last shift at the fire station for the week. So, I’ll be free the entire weekend.”

“Oh, that’s wonderful! Thank-you for agreeing to help.” Angela picked her keys off the floor and finally found the one that unlocked her door. “I’ll see you this weekend then!”

“Yeah, see you.”

-

The next few weeks were the best ever. It started off with Angela and Fareeha shopping for a replacement couch. Angela wanted to get one that had cute cat portraits stitched all over it. Fareeha had to convince her that maybe the nice plushy blue one right next to it was the better option.

Angela stopped showing up lonely to the office, much to Dr. Vaswani’s relief. Her patients were even better than average. She even ended up having that playdate with Lena’s cat. Potato was really well behaved that day.

Of course, with the couch weekend as the catalyst, Angela and Fareeha spent more time together. When it was lunch time. Angela would stop by the station and share her takeout with Fareeha. Fareeha started cooking an extra portion of dinner every night when she learned that Angela only ate takeout and coffee. Things were great.

As for Poncho/Potato, he would spend the evenings at Fareeha’s apartment. He ruled his dominion with an iron paw above his cat tower until Fareeha got home. That’s when he’d jump down to grovel for food. When she went to bed, he would snuggle into her chest for a few hours. Then, early in the mornings, he’d hop out the window and make his way into Angela’s apartment. He’d terrorize the long usb cable that she got him until it was time for his morning potato. When it was time for her to binge watch her recorded shows, he’d watch them with her. Murder Mystery in the Dark was his favorite. She always gave him a smooch before she left for work. He’d spend the rest of his afternoon either snoozing on Angela’s couch or teaching the neighborhood birds a lesson.

That was how Poncho/Potato spent his days until the day he didn’t come back to Fareeha’s or Angela’s apartment. He was gone.


	3. Oops, we have the same cat.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's the final chapter. I had a ton of fun writing "Ponchato's" adventure. Enjoy.

Day 1

Angela, snug in her bed, was roused out of her sleep by the morning rays slipping through the shades. She moved to sit against her headboard and rub the sleep from her eyes. _Damn sun has no business waking me up. Wait a minute… sun?_

She ripped the blankets from her body and vaulted over the side of her bed to check the time. It was almost seven in the morning.

 _Oh no, did I sleep in?_ She wasn’t late for work, but Potato normally would have dragged his frayed usb cable to her bed at around four in the morning. _Maybe he got lazy this morning._

Angela hurried about getting ready for the day. Since she only had an hour before she was expected at work, she skipped some parts of her routine. Namely bathing, tv binging, and flossing. She power walked out of her bedroom to make herself some coffee. She stopped in her tracks when she saw the usb cable she put on the floor for Potato. It was unmoved and not yet frayed. _What’s Potato up to this morning? Maybe he’s in the couch._

She did a quick scan of the couch, hoping to see his head poking through the cushions. No luck. She completely removed the cushions and even threw the couch on its back to check underneath it. Nothing. She checked that the window was open and that he wasn’t suffering outside. Still no cat.

_Maybe he’s in the potato drawer._

Angela made her way to the drawer where she kept Potato’s morning potatoes and opened it slowly so she wouldn’t hurt him if he was there. When it was fully opened, there were plenty of potatoes but not her beloved cat. _Is he, is he just not here?_

Tears welled up in her eyes and she braced against the counter for support. Things were going so well for her. Her loneliness went away, her patients stopped making her want to pull out her hair, and she was finally hanging out with Fareeha. _I was going to ask her out on a date… soonish. But now Potato’s up and left me._

The clock on her microwave revealed that Angela only had a half hour to get to work. She dusted off her box of emergency instant coffee and fixed together a to-go cup. On her way out, she slipped on her long-forgotten pair of crocs.

The trip to her car was longer than she remembered it being. She took a sip of her coffee. _Sad coffee for a sad day._

-

Fareeha had a weird feeling since before she went to bed the night before. She tried to shake it off, but it kept coming back, gnawing away at her thoughts. It was starting to affect her work. Poor Reinhardt got hosed down on a house fire call.

“I think you should sit out the next call,” Reinhardt said on the way back to the station. He managed to ring out most of the water from his shirt. His pants were a different story.

“Sorry, captain. I don’t know what’s wrong with me today. I’ll try to sort myself out.” _Maybe I’ll feel better if I talk to Angela._

Back at the station, Fareeha slumped face first into one of the free beds. She fished her phone out of her pocket, intending to speed dial Angela. It was forcibly removed from her hand before she could make the call.

“Oh? What’s this? Does my baby prefer talking to someone else over her own mother?” Ana eyed the phone she just nabbed. “I see. You were going to call Angela. Are you two married yet?”

Fareeha scrambled to a sitting position and plucked her phone out of her mother’s hands. “We’re not even dating! She’s a, she’s _just_ a, she’s… calling me right now. Hello?”

 _“Fareeha! I couldn’t –_ ” A fit of sobbing interrupted her. _“Potato! Does he not love me anymore? Did I do something wrong?”_ The sobbing continued.

“Angela? What’s wrong? Did something happen with Potato?”

Loud sniffling and the sound of indignant patients eased through the phone’s speaker. _“Potatooo! Potato doesn’t love me!”_

“Don’t say that. I’m sure he loves you. Cats just have a weird way of showing it sometimes.”

 _“Ouch lady! Watch where you’re poking that –”_ Angela cut her patient off. _“Does loving me include running away, leaving me alone and lonely? Because that’s what he did Fareeha! He. Left. Meeeeee!”_ She continued to wail into the phone for a solid minute. A distant _‘are you okay, doc’_ could be heard in the background.

“Angela, are you in the middle of working? Please put down any sharp objects.”

A clank sounded through the phone.

“Okay, now, Potato’s missing? Is that right?”

_“…missing, left me, same thing.”_

“No, no, it’s not the same thing. I’m sure he’d like to be home instead of wherever he is. When was the last time you saw him?”

_“…yesterday morning. We watched his favorite tv show before I had to leave for work.”_

“Do you ever see him in the evenings?”

_“No, but that’s normal. He’s usually just around in the mornings.”_

“Maybe he was a little late today. You should give it another day before thinking he’s missing.”

 _“But he’s definitely gone! I just know it! I can feel it in my… in my broken heart!”_ The sobbing resumed.

 _Shit! Said the wrong thing there._ “Okay, okay, he’s missing. I believe you. I’ll help you look for him when we’re both off work”

A sniffle. _“…really?”_

“I promise.”

 _“Oh, thank you Fareeha! Though, I should probably go now. I’m getting threats of non-payment and negative online reviews.”_ Angela promptly hung up the phone before Fareeha could respond.

“This is a good opportunity for you Fareeha,” said Ana. She made herself comfortable on the bed across from her daughter’s during the phone call. “Find that cat and she’s sure to love you. Well, more than she probably already does.”

Fareeha could feel her face heating up. She twisted the phone nervously between her hands. “You say that so easily, like it’s true.”

Ana set her special brew of miraculously appearing tea to the side. “What makes you think otherwise? You both spend time every day with each other and you exchange food. A rock could see the googly eyes she makes at you. There’s no doubt that she’s fallen for you.”

A smile slowly made its onto Fareeha’s face. “…so, find that cat, yeah?”

“Yup, find that cat and live happily ever after.”

-

After her breakdown during a patient check-up, Dr. Vaswani insisted that Angela stick to doing paperwork and online auctions at her desk. It was nearing the end of the work day and she had no more paperwork to do. She had been bidding on every listing for autonomous vacuum cleaners that she could find. Angela thought it would be cute to see Potato riding on them, if he ever came back.

A knock sounded at the door to her office. Well, multiple knocks. “Open up, doc! It’s intervention time.”

_But I don’t want one though. Just need these cute ‘lil vacuums and my Potato back. I’ll just hole myself in here until they go away. Good thing I locked the door._

She did not lock the door. Sombra and Lena barged their way into her office and made themselves comfortable on opposite sides of her desk.

“Doc, I thought you were over this lonely thing. It’s the return of the crocs with socks and I think you even purposefully wore the rattiest lab coat you own. The coffee stains of days past are all over it.” Sombra apparently had no problem grilling the poor dentist.

Lena had a bit more tact. “Now, there’s nothing wrong with crocs with socks!” She looked down at her own crocs covered feet. “But Sombra does have a point. You only wore those during your lonely phase. What’s wrong?”

Angela barely mumbled out a reply. “…left me.”

“Didn’t quite catch that. Try again, love.”

A deep breath. “He left me. Potato up and left me.”

“Pobrecita, that’s terrible news. How long has he been gone?” Sombra had a soft spot for cats. She had like ten of them.

“This morning, he left this morning. Fareeha offered to help look for him after work.”

The two office assistants shared a look. Sombra spoke first. “So, your steamy firefighter neighbor offered to help? Are you two dating yet or what?”

Angela nervously bit her lip, but kept her eyes glued to her computer screen. There was a minute left in the auction. “I, uh, we just… haven’t got that far, yet. I was thinking about asking her out sometime definitely in the future. The moment’s just never been right.”

That was false. There were plenty of romantic moments between the two. Angela didn’t have the guts to make the first move. She’d get dizzy and the world felt like it was falling when she even thought about it. The time they shared dumplings by the lake just before sunset almost made her pass out. Fareeha carrying her back to her apartment sent her straight into unconscious land.

“C’mon, doc! Take the dive!” Lena grabbed onto her shoulders to pull her attention from her screen. “Just look at me and Emily. She vaulted over a rack of as seen on tv merchandise when she saw me at the discount store, trying to ask for my number. I don’t think I’ve agreed to something faster in my whole life. You’ve just got to quit worrying about it and just do it.”

“Lena’s right. When Potato’s safely back home, you have to ask her out.”

 The auction ended and Angela was now the proud owner of a singing self-automated vacuum cleaner. She named it Henry. _Fuck it. What’s the worst that could happen?_ “Alright, I’ll do it.”

-

Sometime during the morning…

“It’s time to fess up fur ball. Who sent you?”

The fur ball in question had no idea what was going on. He tried to get a good look around, but the cage he was in was covered in a tarp. There were no holes that he could see through. The last thing he remembered doing was going on his early morning patrol. A group of pigeons were perched a little too close to his window. One of them had a hat on, the leader. He remembered chasing after it. He also remembered one of its cronies springing a trap before his world went dark.

“Before you came along, things were peachy. Us birds had it great. That lonely blond lady used to draw flattering pictures of us in her journal. Frank and Lisa, the resident blue jays, were expecting their first batch of kids. And Louie? That big lug of a warbler was finally getting his act together. It was bird paradise until you came along an’ ruined it. Now the only ones left are us pigeons.”

A weak meow sounded through the tarp.

“Not much of a talker, huh? Bad news for you then. You’re not getting out of here until you do.”

Maybe he should have left those birds alone.

-

When Angela made it back to her apartment, Fareeha was already waiting for her leaned against the wall. She didn’t look so great.

“What’s wrong, Fareeha? Did something happen at work?” Angela took out her keys and started the long process of finding which one opened her door.

“Ah, it’s nothing like that. It’s just, I had a bad feeling all day and I finally know why.” She pushed herself off the wall and pointed out the right key to Angela’s apartment. “I guess we’re on the lookout for two cats. Poncho’s gone too.”

 _I should really label that key._ “Yours too? You think they ran off together? Maybe they were lovers, tired of a world that kept them apart.”

Fareeha gave a small laugh at that explanation. “Whatever the case, we should get a move on before it gets dark.”

“Ja, let me just slip out of my lab coat and put on my evening glasses.”

_What the hell are evening glasses?_

“Well, I should technically wear glasses all day. But, through sheer will power, I can manage clear vision through the afternoon. When I get home, I put on my glasses because my eyelids get tired. That’s why I call them evening glasses.”

“Did I… ask that out loud?”

“Yes, but the confusion in your voice was cute. So, I forgive you.” Angela’s eyes widened when she realized what she said. She hurriedly slipped inside her apartment to change.

Fareeha had a dopey smile on her face. _She said I was cute._

-

The duo started their search around the Winston Estates. They looked to see if anyone else on the ground floor had any open windows. Not only were they all shut, they all had screens. That led them to searching for any crevices around that their cats could be huddled up in. There was one location that had promise. Fareeha investigated a hole that led to underneath the complex’s utility shed. She came back with an armful of cats, none of which were Poncho or Potato. She deposited her haul on the ground.

Angela bent down and pet the cats. “Have any of you kitties seen Poncho or Potato around? We’re their owners and it would mean an awful lot if you could help us out.”

The cats nuzzled into her palm and let out meows of content. It wasn’t very helpful.

“I remember finding my cat about a block away from the fire station. Maybe we’ll find them around the area.”

The continued search was met with more dead ends. They found plenty of cats, sure, but none of them were theirs. The stray cats that were pulled out of their hiding spots formed a line behind the searching women, letting out meows into the darkening streets.

“Angela, it’s getting dark. We should head back.”

“We’ll keep looking for them tomorrow, right?”

“Of course! We won’t stop until they’re both safely home.”

-

The city at night was something the trapped cat didn’t miss. His home with Fareeha gave him a soft bed to sleep in and respite from the dangerous night life. Namely spiders, those were awful.

The cage he was trapped in didn’t give him much room to stretch out. He was about to doze off for the night, purely out of boredom, when his worst fear came waltzing past the tarp into his cage. It was a spider. He scrambled to fit himself into a corner and bravely swatted a paw at it, hoping it would leave. The spider latched out onto his paw and stared him down. When it started to move, the cat let out a startling meow.

“Hey, what’s the matter ‘round here? I’m trying to sleep.” A rat poked his head under the tarp to see what the commotion was about. “Well, would ya look at that. A cat scared of a spider. Let me help you out, bud.” The rat bravely grabbed one of the spider’s legs and chucked it out of the cage. “Easy, peasy. What’s a wimpy cat like you doin’ out here anyway? This alley’s no place for animals like you.”

The cat rolled onto its back and pat the rat on its head. He let out a soft meow.

The rat sighed. “I don’t know what mess you got yourself in, but let me help you out a little. You hungry?”

Rumbling and gurgling could be heard coming from the cat’s belly.

“Alright, let me see what I can do for you.” The rat left for a short while and came back with a napkin full of blueberries. “A good friend of mine gave me these the other day. They should help tide you over for the night.” The rat dumped the blueberries in front of the cat. “The name's Ralph by the way. I’d help you out of that cage, but it’s got a lock on it. I can see what my friend can do for you when he’s back in town.”

The cat gratefully scarfed down his dinner. He gave the rat another pat on its head.

-

Day 2

The following day for Fareeha was an unfocused mess. Now that her cat was also missing, she just didn’t have the energy to do her job well. She managed to spray Reinhardt down on another call today and jostle him off a ladder. The poor man almost broke his hip. She was delegated to cleaning duty for the rest of her shift.

Just as she finished cleaning the kitchen area, a teacup and saucer combo found a spot on the newly sparkling counters. “Looks like you didn’t find that cat. You know, you don’t have to make poor Reinhardt suffer because of it. He’s planning on another year before he retires.”

Fareeha rolled her eyes. Of course her mother was here. She was starting to think the police commissioner job description had only seven words to it, visit too much at the fire station. “It’s good to see you too mother. Shouldn’t you be doing police commissioner stuff, like running the district?”

Ana waved her off. “That’s what delegation is for. My poor baby is having a crisis and she needs her mother’s help.”

“What kind of help do you intend to give?”

“Companionship of course.”

“…you just want someone to go to the farmer’s market with you.”

Ana was already dragging her off to her car. “How perceptive of you.”

-

A trio of stray cats found themselves stashed away in an alley. They were on the run from a shop owner after they stole the dumplings off a customer’s plate. “Hey, Rinzo. Go check if the coast is clear.”

The short haired orange and gray tabby, Rinzo, poked his head around the corner of the alley. He spotted the shop owner furiously looking around the area. “Nah, boss. He’s still after us.”

The boss, a gray Persian named George Henry, swished his tail in irritation. “It was just a few dumplings. Nothin’ to get so riled up about.”

Sparkles, the brown and white ragdoll mix, voiced her disagreement. “Georgie, it was a lot more than a few. We scarfed down the whole plate and knocked soda all over the table. He’s got a reason to be mad at us.”

“Always the voice of reason, Sparkles. Alright, we’ll just wait out here until he’s gone.” George Henry went to go take a nap on an appealing black tarp. He started to knead at the surface, but found that the tarp was covering something with a lot of holes in it. “What’s this thing on?” He looked under it and came face to face with a brown tabby staring back at him. It let out a soft meow and tried to paw at him throw the cage. “Hey, fella. What are ya doin’ trapped in that cage?”

The brown tabby just gave another meow.

“Okay, keep your secrets. I can’t be much help if you don’t tell me what’s going on.”

“Hey, boss, who ya talkin’ to?” Rinzo walked up to George Henry and stuck his head under the tarp. “Who’s this? Do ya think he’s one of them cats the whole neighborhood’s strays been lookin’ for?”

George Henry looked back at the caged tabby. “You could be onto somethin’. I haven’t seen him around before. Sparkles, do you remember the names of the cats everyone’s lookin’ for?”

“Poncho and Potato. Everyone’s lookin’ for a pair of cats named Poncho and Potato.”

“Are you one of them cats?”

The brown tabby’s eyes lit up and he excitedly wagged his tail. “Look at that Rinzo, we found one of ‘em.”

Sparkles sidled up to her two pals. “There’s a farmer’s market goin’ on just on the other side of the alley. We should try and get a human to help him out.”

“Always with them good ideas, Sparkles.” George Henry turned back to the caged tabby. “Sit tight while we go get some help.”

The trio sprinted into the market and ran up to the first people they could find, an older looking woman walking beside what looked to be her daughter.

-

Fareeha hated going to the farmer’s market with her mother. She always ended up carrying her stuff, and she bought a lot of stuff. This visit, however, her load was light. It seemed some of her favorite venders were out of town.

“Oh, darn. I was hoping I could get some of Mr. Leggy’s blueberries today. Maybe he’ll be here on my next visit.”

 _I wouldn’t have minded carrying around some blueberries. Hopefully she doesn’t want to substitute them with melons._ “Sorry to hear that, mom. Maybe we could get some of those…” Fareeha scanned the stalls for something light, but delicious. “Blackberries. There’s a vender selling blackberries over there.” She pointed to a stall next to an alley.

“That’s a wonderful idea. I could make some blackberry crostatas with those.”

The pair made their way to the vender but were stopped by a group of cats frantically meowing at them. The brown and white one stretched up her leg then turned around and started walking towards the alley. It turned around and waited for Fareeha to follow it.

 _Does it want me to follow it into the alley? Doesn’t sound like a great idea._ Fareeha was going to ignore it, but the other two cats copied the brown and white one. _They must really want me to check something out._ “I’m gonna go see what these cats want. I’ll meet you at the stand.”

“Don’t lose my stuff in that dingy alley,” Ana said before she left her daughter to whatever business she had with those cats.

Fareeha turned her attention back to the cats and cautiously followed them into the alley. A fight broke out about a third of the way in. The trio of cats were getting pecked at by some angry looking pigeons. They retaliated with hissing and claws.

 _Sorry, cats. I am not getting involved in this._ Fareeha quickly sprinted out of the alley and found her mother.

“Did you find out what those cats wanted?”

“It might have had something to do with some pigeons. I didn’t stick around, though. A fight broke out and I wanted no part of it.”

“Smart. Who knows what you’ll catch it one of those animals scratched you. Now help me with these blackberries. There was a sale.”

Fareeha eyed her mother’s purchase. There were three full crates of the fruit. _That’s a lot of crostatas._

-

Angela was having a better day at work than the previous day. Her cat was on its second day of being missing, but she surprisingly didn’t have a breakdown in front of her patients. She was holding it together.

“Okay, Mr. Landburger. Your teeth are in good health, but you have some light bleeding between your molars. Be sure to floss more and the problem should fix itself.”

“Thanks, Dr. Ziegler. I can’t wait to tell my cat about the good news.” The patient got out of the examination chair and left to handle his payment with her assistant.

 _Oh, god. He just had to mention his cat._ Angela texted her assistant to cancel the rest of her appointments for the day. She walked herself to her office and actually locked the door before she crumbled to the ground and sobbed. Anyone walking by could hear the sobs coming through the door.

Sombra texted her back. _‘Is this about your cat again? You know you can’t keep skipping out on appointments.’_

_‘i hink im gonn take tmrrw off’_

_‘What did I just say? And are you sob texting me?’_

_‘Potatooooo!!!!! i don wanna see no patient util i get him bac’_

_‘…you’re the boss. I’ll see if Dr. Vaswani can cover some of your patients tomorrow.’_

_‘tanks sombra. best asistnt’_

_‘Yeah, yeah. Go hang out with your almost girlfriend. You’ll be less sad.’_

_That’s actually a good idea._ Angela sent Fareeha a message. _‘r u busy?’_

A minute later. _‘Nope, my mom already bothered me for the day and I’m stuck with cleaning duty. Why?’_

Angela smiled at her phone. _‘gonna visit :P’_

-

Angela dropped by the station with take-out in hand. She found Fareeha quickly enough. The firefighter was busy sweeping the floors. She put the food down and quietly tiptoed towards Fareeha. When she was close enough she put her hands over her eyes. “Guess who?”

Fareeha stopped sweeping. “Hmm. I think these hands belong to my neighbor. It’s nice of you to visit, Mrs. Jenkins.”

Angela playfully swatted her arm. “Hey! Be nice or I may forget to feed you.”

Fareeha laughed and put one hand up in surrender. “Alright, I give. It’s nice of you to visit, _Angela_. Would you care to accompany me to the kitchen for lunch?”

The dentist picked up the take-out and returned to Fareeha. Feeling bold in that moment, she linked their arms together. “Onwards.”

The duo made their way to the unoccupied table where they spent the next twenty minutes eating and making jokes. Things suddenly got quiet when they were done. Angela nervously twiddled her fingers and avoided looking at Fareeha.

“Do you… do you think it’d be okay if I stuck around the station for the rest of your shift?”

Fareeha slid over a bowl of blackberries to Angela. “Of course. I’m done cleaning the station and Reinhardt doesn’t want me on any calls for the rest of my shift. You can help me set up a kickin’ water slide for the neighborhood kids.”

Angela replied through a mouthful of black berries, “Shounds fun.”

The rest of Fareeha’s shift passed by in a haze of fun and blackberries. (Her mother left her a bunch, telling her to share them with Angela.) When the two of them made it back to the Winston Estates, they continued the search for their cats. They brought their cats’ favorite toys, hoping to entice them out of hiding. No luck. The walk back to their apartments was silent, the air heavy with sadness. What if poor Poncho and Potato never came back?

“We’ll have more time to look for them tomorrow. I don’t have a shift and you took the day off. We’re bound to find them. Tomorrow’s gonna be our lucky day.”

Angela wasn’t too convinced. “…if you say so.”

-

Day 3

The pigeons had spent the better part of the morning trying to get their captive to talk. Either the cat could really keep a secret or he was as dumb as a rock. They hadn’t considered that he couldn’t communicate with them.

“This is your last chance fur ball. Cough up what you know or we’ll leave you in this cage. This time, we’re not coming back.”

The caged tabby meowed pathetically at his captors. He just wanted to be home. Right about now, he’d be finishing up one of his usb cables that Angela got for him.

“Have it your way, cat. Make yourself comfortable in there, you’re never getting out.” The pigeon with the hat addressed his followers. “Let’s fly boys.” And they left.

The tabby sat staring at the spot they just were. He rolled onto his back and stared some more. He stared blankly at the sky until he couldn’t hold it back anymore. He let out the loudest meow his body could make. He kept doing it, furiously kicking his legs in frustration. If he ever got out of there, he would swear off birds for the rest of his life!

The commotion from the cage caught the attention of Ralph the rat. _Poor guy. Lemme see if my friend’s back. He can probably get ‘im out of there._ Ralph scurried out of the alley and into the farmer’s market. He crept around in the shadows, avoiding the attention of any shoppers. His eyes darted from stand to stand, trying to find a certain stand. Blueberries stood out amongst the rest of the fruits for sale. _He’s here!_

Ralph made his way over to the blueberry, formerly apple, stand and got the vender’s attention. “Hey, Mr. Leggy! I’ve got a situation in the alley. There’s a cat stuck in a cage with a lock on it. Think you can help him out?”

Mr. Leggy placed a ‘be back soon’ sign on his stand and followed Ralph to the alley. He pulled the tarp from the cage and examined the lock. It looked easy enough. He was, after all, the master of unlocking. The chicken placed his beak into the lock and carefully maneuvered it until he felt it come loose.

Ralph took off the hanging lock and opened the cage door. “And there ya go. Free as a bird. Well, cat.”

The newly freed cat exited the cage and pounced on his rescuers. He tried to give them his best version of a hug.

“Yeah, yeah. No need to get so cuddly. It was our pleasure, right Mr. Leggy?”

The chicken bobbed his head up and down a couple of times.

“Now get out of here and try to stay out of trouble.”

The cat didn’t need to be told twice. He dashed off into the direction of home, thankful he was finally free.

-

Fareeha and Angela had spent their entire day off looking for their cats. They backtracked their previous search area with hope that the cats would be near. When that yielded no results, they expanded their search to the surrounding neighborhoods. They even went as far as the next city. The cats were just nowhere to be seen.

The pair were walking down the hallways to their respective apartments when Angela broke out into sobs. “We didn’t find them! We looked everywhere, asked everybody, and nothing! Potato came into my life and brought me happiness. Now, I may never see him again.” She held onto Fareeha and cried into her shirt.

The firefighter rubbed soothing circles into the dentist’s back. She knew exactly how Angela felt. Poncho was a light in her life. He’d excitedly greet her every time she got back from work. She hated the thought that he could be snuffed out somewhere.

“We have to keep up hope that we’ll see them again. They’ll come back whether it’s today or next year. They’ll make it back home.”

They held onto each other in that hallway until a noise from Fareeha’s apartment grabbed their attention. It sounded like a meow. They broke apart and listened for the noise again. It came back, louder this time.

Fareeha quickly jammed her key into the lock and swung the door open. Perched up on the cat tower was her beloved cat.

“Poncho!” Fareeha scooped the cat into her arms.

 _Poncho? But, that looks an awful lot like my cat._ “Fareeha, I’m pretty sure that’s my cat, Potato.”

Confusion crept onto her face. “Your cat? But he looks exactly like mine.”

The cat jumped out of her arms and nuzzled against Angela’s legs.

 _He seems to know her. I’m pretty sure that’s Poncho, though._ Then it hit her. “Angela, when did you say you normally see your cat?”

“The mornings. I don’t really see him when I get back from work.”

A grin slowly broke out. “I only see my cat in the _evenings_. Do you leave your window open?”

“Well, yes. That’s how I found him in the first place. I left my window open for the night and, the next morning, he was rummaging through my trash.”

“Angela.”

“Yes?”

“I’m pretty sure we have the same cat.”

Angela stared long and hard at Potato. “Ja, that makes sense.” _Can’t believe I never figured that out. But, neither did Fareeha. Two peas in a pod I guess. That reminds me…_ Angela straightened her shoulders and grabbed onto Fareeha’s hands. “Fareeha.”

The firefighter blushed hotly at the contact of their hands. Angela was holding on tight. “Y-Yes?”

“Go out with me. As in a date. Romantically. I’ve had a crush on you for over a year and a half now and I’d like to be your girlfriend. Maybe one day we could get married.” _Smooth._

Fareeha was close to fainting. _Oh my god, my mother was right. How dense can I be? For over a year and a half?_ “Yes! A thousand times yes!”

 _Fuck yeah! I did it!_ “I was thinking we could go to that new cat café. They play nothing but cat opera.”

“What the hell is cat opera?”

“We’ll find out together.”

-

Three months later found the two happily together in a new, bigger apartment. The extra room was really so Angela could have a place to put her vintage tooth brush collection. She finally put them in display cases.

They no longer left the window open for their cat. He was forbidden from the outside world. Po Poncho Potato the 23rd, Po for short, didn’t seem to mind. He had two loving owners that gave him all the attention he needed. He still kept to his old schedule. The mornings were exclusively for Angela, the evenings for Fareeha. Afternoon was fair game. At night, he snuggled between the both of them until the sun came up.

Fareeha was lounging on the couch with Po when a question popped up in her mind. “Babe.”

“Yeah?” Angela answered from the kitchen. She was making coffee.

“I’m normally gone when you feed Po breakfast. What _do_ you feed him?”

“A potato with some creamer.”

A pause. “Please stop.”

“But he likes his morning potato. He likes it better with the creamer.”

“You’re not the one that scoops his litter. I’ll marry you if you stop.”

Angela was quick to change her tune. “Now that I had some time to examine the situation, I don’t think Po really needs to eat potatoes.”

“Thanks, babe. Love you.”

“Love you too. I’m setting the wedding for April.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I'm thinking about doing a Symbra fic set in the same universe. I also have a sad Pharmercy au in the works. You might not want to read that one if you have feelings.


End file.
